The NBT explained
The National Benchmark Tests catch people out for one reason: whether you need to write them depends on where you are applying and what for, and nobody tells you automatically.
The thing to know first
There are two tests, and which you write depends on your programme:
- AQL: Academic Literacy and Quantitative Literacy. Written by applicants to all programmes.
- MAT: Mathematics. Written by applicants to programmes for which mathematics is a requirement.
So if your programme needs maths, you write both. If it does not, you write AQL only.
Who actually has to write it
This is the part that is genuinely confusing, and the honest answer is that there is no single national rule. Some universities use the NBTs alongside the NSC for access, and others use them to work out what academic support a student will need once enrolled. Each university and each faculty decides which tests must be written, and by when.
Two examples from institutions covered on this site, and note how differently they work:
UCT: compulsory
All undergraduate applicants who are normally resident in South Africa, or at school in South Africa, must write the NBTs. Not some. All of them.
And there is a trap: some UCT faculties do not use the NBT results in the admission decision, but you still have to write the tests. "My faculty does not score it" is not a reason to skip it.
UP: conditional
UP requires the NBT from applicants who meet the minimum APS but do not comply with the subject requirements. The trigger is the subject mismatch, not a low score. UP material specifies that an applicant on an APS of 30 who does not comply must still write it.
The NBT is not applicable to UP's selection programmes, which handle things their own way.
So the only reliable method is to check the specific institution and the specific programme you are applying to. Do that at the point of applying, not after.
What it costs
| Booking | Fee, 2026 |
|---|---|
| AQL only | R195 |
| AQL and MAT combined | R390 |
| Re-mark | R250 |
That last point is worth spelling out, because it changes the maths. You do not pay again for each university. If three of your choices require the NBT, you write once.
How to book
- Go to nbt.ac.za and click "Book a Test".
- Register and choose a session. Sessions are limited and they fill, particularly the ones closest to application deadlines.
- Pay the fee. Payment can be made at a Lesaka EasyPay paypoint, on the EasyPay website, or by direct deposit or EFT to the NBT Project. Take your registration letter with you if paying in person.
- Keep your booking confirmation and note the date, time and venue.
Book early, and here is the specific reason
Sessions have finite capacity. The ones in the months when everyone realises they need the test are the ones that fill first.
More importantly: each institution sets its own deadline for receiving your results. Writing the test is not enough on its own, the results have to reach the university in time. Between the sitting and the results being available there is a processing period, so a test written close to a deadline can be useless even though you sat it before the date.
Work backwards from the institution's results deadline, not from its application deadline.
Can you prepare for it?
Partly, and it is worth being realistic about how.
The NBTs are designed to assess academic readiness rather than curriculum content, so they are not a syllabus you can cram. What you can do is remove the surprises: know the format, know how long you have, know the kind of question you will face. The NBT Project publishes information on what to expect, and going in cold when you did not have to is an avoidable disadvantage.
Be careful with paid "NBT preparation" courses. Some are legitimate. Others charge substantial money for material that is close to what the NBT Project publishes for free. Read the official what to expect material first, and decide afterwards whether you need anything more.
What the results are used for
This is where the NBT differs from an exam in a way that is genuinely reassuring.
It is not only a gate. Universities use NBT results in two quite different ways: some as part of the admission decision, and others to determine what kind of academic support a student will need once they are enrolled.
So a result that flags you as needing support is not a rejection. At several institutions it routes you towards extended or supported programmes designed for exactly that, which is a considerably better outcome than being admitted to a mainstream programme and struggling silently in first year.
If something goes wrong
- You can apply for a re-mark, at a fee. As with a matric re-mark, do it because you have reason to think the result is wrong, not because you are disappointed.
- You can usually write again, at another session, for another booking fee. Check the current rules on repeat sittings before assuming.
- If you cannot afford the fee, ask the institution you are applying to. Some have arrangements for applicants in financial difficulty, and asking costs nothing.
Where to next
- UCT. Where the NBT is compulsory for South African applicants
- UP. Where it is triggered by a subject mismatch
- All universities. Check whether yours requires it
- How to apply